DODGERS MANAGE ANOTHER LOSS : DECISION ON LASORDA COULD COME TODAY; ASTROS WIN IN NINTH HOUSTON 3, DODGERS 2.

Byline: Tim Brown Daily News Staff Writer

There were no farewells for Bill Russell. No handshakes. No promises to call.

If Russell's final game as manager was Sunday, if the last live baseball he ever managed was the home-run ball Joey Eischen gave up in the ninth inning, then the most dramatic thing that will happen is that Russell will move one seat to the left, beside Tom Lasorda's seat, rather than in it.

The Houston Astros defeated the Dodgers 3-2 at the Astrodome, when Orlando Miller hit Joey Eischen's second pitch into the left-center field bleachers. The lead-off hit broke a 2-2 tie in a game the Dodgers once led 2-0.

Russell's stay was 30 games. He won 14, lost 16, as well as ``five or six pounds.''

By most accounts, Russell will learn more of his future today. The Dodgers returned to Los Angeles on Sunday night, after their 5-5 road trip. Lasorda, whose heart attack and subsequent angioplasty created this opportunity for Russell, met twice in the last three days with club owner Peter O'Malley and executive vice president Fred Claire. They are to meet again today.

No details have come from the discussions between the organization's three decision-makers. And so Russell waits. The players wait. The public waits.

``It's not like it's going to be a shock or anything when he comes back,'' Russell said. ``I think he'll be back. Nobody knows for sure. I enjoyed the time that I was here. I enjoyed doing it. The guys. Making the decisions. We had a lot of fun.''

Russell said he never felt like a lame duck, not even Sunday, when it was clear that O'Malley and Claire seem very close to a decision. He might be asked for the keys back.

``I came prepared every game for that to happen,'' said Russell, who never lost his low-key manner.

If the players cared either way, it did not show. They rarely asked when Lasorda would return, and never grumbled about Russell. Indeed, there was a certain looseness in the clubhouse, an attitude that would have been worth examining had the team had not lost 16 of 30 games.

The transition from Lasorda to Russell was smooth, as will be the transition back, if that time comes.

``They know just like we all know,'' Russell said. ``They know one day he'll come back. They've done a good job with (Brett) Butler, and now (Mike) Blowers and Tommy. They block it out when the game starts.''

The fact is, many players wondered why three meetings were needed to restore Lasorda to a position he held for going on 20 seasons. They take that as a sign Lasorda might not return, and that these are not meetings, but negotiations. Again, there are few details.

That leaves Russell, perhaps on the brink of returning to his role as bench coach, perhaps about to extend his interim position, and maybe about to take the position permanently. It's all that vague.

``I'd say I was better prepared than I thought,'' Russell said. ``I'd say I was ready. There was a thought behind every decision I made. And there should be.''

The distraction of Lasorda's heart attack and surgery was minimal, according to most players.

``We're all professional and we know what our job is,'' catcher Mike Piazza said. ``We have to go out there, no matter who's managing. We're all concerned, but when we get between the lines we have to put it out of our minds, for the time being.''

If Sunday was the end for Russell, it came on a poorly-placed fastball by Eischen, who from the furthest corner of the bullpen pitched twice since July 15, for three innings. Miller took ball one from Eischen, then homered on the next pitch.

``The guy swings hard every time,'' Piazza said of the Astros shortstop. ``Unfortunately we hit his bat that time.''

Dodgers starter Ismael Valdes pitched 6-1/3 innings and allowed two runs. Astros starter Shane Reynolds allowed two over seven innings. Danny Darwin (9-9), who pitched two innings, was the winner. The loss was Eischen's first career decision.

It was the second time in the three-game series that Dodgers pitchers entered the late innings with a lead, only to wobble and lose.

``We could have made some better pitches,'' Piazza said, ``no question about it. That's putting it delicately.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) The Astros' Orlando Miller, left, is c ongratulated after hitting the game-winning homer against the Dodgers.

(2) The Dodgers' Delino DeShields jumps over Houston's Craig Biggio to complete a double play in the fourth inning.

Associated Press